Merlot is good stuff.....my fav! Of course you can't beat Boones Farms! hehe
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Braver" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 9:41 PM Subject: Re: Almost Gone and Back Again, A Hospital Tale > Kevin- > > no need, 'nuff said dewd! > and I'm glad too!! > > BTW emailed the Doctor, asked if I could have a glass of wine with dinner > (conflict with meds?). > He said ok. > > Gee, that 99 Merlot sure tasted better than I remember!! > <grin> > > -Ben > > > At 09:26 PM 3/11/03 -0600, you wrote: > >I have yet to send an email.....but I am glad you are still with us! > > > > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: "Ben Braver" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: "CF-Community" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 4:46 PM > >Subject: Almost Gone and Back Again, A Hospital Tale > > > > > >> by Benbo Braver > >> <with sincere apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien> > >> > >> (LONG post, sorry.) > >> > >> Promised to recount what happened, how it felt, etc. > >> > >> Hope these "few" words from the brink may inspire some others on the list > >> to make changes before looking into the Grand Canyon with a hand on your > >back. > >> > >> Before: > >> 5'11", as high as 283 pounds barenaked. Mostly around middle (bad) - > >> couldn't easily see feet :-( > >> BP not too high, typ. 130s over 80s. > >> Cholesterol and ratio not good - as of last August, > >> Total Chol. 274, Triglycerides 366, HDL 40 (should be over 45), LDL 161 > >> (s/b under 100) > >> > >> Realistically, needed to lose about 90 pounds, really change the lipid > >> panel numbers. > >> > >> Was doing "strength/endurance" exercise trying to rehab the hip and back > >> muscles, and get in generally better condition, but was not doing hardly > >> any aerobic stuff (walking was tough with the injured hip muscle). Also > >had > >> motivation limits on how much time I was willing to spend at the gym. > >> > >> Father had angina pectoris - means "choking sensation of the chest". > >> Like a heart attack, but no permanent damage because heart isn't deprived > >> of oxygen for very long. > >> His was induced by exercise and stress. > >> He stuck nitroglycerin tablets under the tongue to relieve symptoms. > >> Then he had a couple of small heart attacks, followed by a fatal one at > >age > >> 54. > >> > >> A couple of days before my attack, I was talking about stress with my > >boss. > >> He's a really super mellow person, on the outside at least. > >> Hardly ever seems "ruffled". > >> I asked if he ever had "anxiety attacks", feeling tight in the chest, > >> anxious, wondering how to "get it all done". > >> He said (surprisingly) "more often then I want to admit, lately". > >> I was also thinking about unfinished work and an upcoming vacation. > >> Plus the stress of "hormone week" at home, the friction with the son, etc. > >> Figured a vacation was just what I needed. > >> But the vacation was also a source of some stress - would I be able to ski > >> (how would the hip/back muscles do?), etc. > >> > >> The morning of the attack, I awoke about 5:30am, before the alarm went > >off. > >> Felt almost panicky. > >> Tight feeling under sternum (breastbone), but no "pain". > >> Thought "this feels like my Dad described angina." > >> Decided to try the first aid his doctor had recommended - straight shot of > >> whiskey. > >> Believe it or not, padded out to kitchen in my robe, tossed down a jigger > >> of JD. > >> (Very unusual - never drink except maybe one cocktail before dinner or > >wine > >> with a meal.) > >> That felt somewhat better, lessened the tightness. > >> Thought "gotta keep a close eye on this, report it to doctor later today, > >> maybe go get checked." > >> Wife woke up, said "feeling stressed, need a hug". That helped too. > >> > >> Went to the throne room, relaxed quite a bit responding with puns to some > >> cf-comm posts (WiFi in PocketPC). > >> <sorry> > >> > >> Got dressed, felt good enough to go to work. > >> Told wife if I felt bad, could go to Medical at work. > >> She says she should have insisted right then that I go to the ER and get > >> examined. > >> She's probably right - but on the other hand, if the symptoms lessened, > >> they might have checked and sent me away. > >> > >> Driving to work, just before my freeway exit, started feeling more tight, > >> and worried. > >> Found myself reciting the "Shema" prayer out loud in Hebrew (uh-oh...). > >> (In English, "hear, o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One".) > >> Thought about driving to hospital, decided I was closer to work, and could > >> get the EMTs giving me first aid while they got an ambulance if needed. > >> > >> Got into office, sat down, started feeling queasy (not nauseous), cold > >> sweat on forehead. > >> No pain, but numbness down the left arm to the elbow, and a CRUSHING > >> pressure on the chest - > >> like an elephant was sitting on it. > >> > >> Was reaching for the phone to call the Emergency number, when my boss > >stuck > >> his head in to say good morning. > >> > >> He said "hey, you don't look well - you look WHITE." > >> I said "I don't feel well, I feel green, and..." > >> > >> Never got to tell him about the pressure - he interrupted to say "can I > >> take you to Medical?" > >> I said "yes, now!". > >> > >> A mistake - walked across the street to the parking lot to his car > >(slowly). > >> Should have said please bring the car over. > >> > >> At Medical, rang the bell, started signing in. > >> Voice said "be right with you". > >> I said "please make it sooner, not later - having chest pains". > >> By this point, it hurt. > >> > >> Within a minute, he and the gal on duty had me lying down, chewing on an > >> aspirin tablet, trying to attach EKG leads (but I was sweating too much). > >> > >> She said to him quietly "should I initiate transport?" and I looked up. > >> He said "do you understand that?" > >> I said "if she means initiate ambulance transport to the hospital, yes > >> please". > >> > >> The paramedics got there, slid me onto a gurney, wheeled me out, put me in > >> the ambulance. > >> Guy said "I'm a paramedic, gonna be starting an IV in your arm." > >> I said "paramedic? as in Airborne??" > >> You should have seen the look he gave me. > >> But heck, I was still alive, getting care. > >> Should I just roll over and die?? No way. > >> He gave me a spray of nitro in my mouth - a lot quicker than the old > >> tablets dissolving. > >> They kept asking "on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being none, and 10 being > >> the most excruciating pain imaginable, how much pain are you having?" > >> It started at 6, went down to about 4 after the aspirin and couple of > >nitro > >> squirts. > >> > >> I could tell from counting the speed bumps that as soon as they went out > >> the refinery gate they turned on siren and sped up. One of the best > >> emergency facilities in the area is Mt. Diablo Medical Center, only about > >2 > >> miles from the gate (or about 4 miles from Medical, 5 miles from my office > >> - it's a BIG place.) > >> > >> Think I had a total of 2 or 3 squirts of nitro. It dilates (opens) the > >> arteries to the heart, increases blood flow, relieves chest pain from > >> angina, reduces the heart's workload. May or may not reduce risk of death > >> in a heart attack. But it also drops blood pressure - this may be good or > >bad. > >> > >> At least with the IV started, I was all ready for whatever drugs the > >> hospital wanted to dump in. > >> > >> In the ER, cardiologist introduced himself, started telling me the things > >> they would do, and might have to do (needed to get me to sign "informed > >> consent" forms). (Later found out he's one of the best cardio's in the > >area.) > >> > >> Said they were going to administer clot-busting drug, TNK (Tenecteplase) - > >> breaks up clot, prevents the ongoing damage from a heart attack. (Damage > >is > >> from heart tissue beyond the clot being deprived of blood flow therefore > >> oxygen.) > >> > >> Then they would do angiogram - go in with catheter through femoral artery > >> in groin, put in contract die (iodine-based) to allow taking images of the > >> arteries and determine how many clogged, how much. He asked if I knew > >what > >> that was, said "yes, had one in 1982. Was very uncomfortable and > >> stressful." He said "now we use Conscious Sedation" - local anesthetic > >> plus tranquilizers. Not as dangerous as general anesthetic, but you're > >> kinda zonked out... > >> > >> Dr said they would probably do a balloon angioplasty, might insert a stent > >> (I said "oh good, my wife owns stock in Medtronic" and OY did I get an > >> unbelieving look for that one), and possibly emergency bypass surgery. > >> > >> I signed the forms, and went off to the cath lab. > >> Don't remember much at all. > >> > >> This all started when I got to work at 8am. By 11am or earlier, I was > >> sitting up in bed, wired and hosed, wondering whether I was really going > >to > >> be ok. In walks my wife. I broke out in a huge smile, said "gee, you look > >> wonderful". :-) > >> > >> At this point, the pain was virtually gone. > >> > >> Asked the wife to email MikeyD, so he could tell the list what happened. > >> > >> BTW they _did_ put in a stent - 12mm long mesh cylinder of steel, like a > >> liner for the damaged portion of artery. (The circumflex artery.) It > >> expands to hold the artery open, then integrates with the artery wall over > >> time. I can't have an MRI for a couple of months, for obvious reasons. > >> > >> Had some ups and downs - apparently, a combination of 2 drugs they gave me > >> (a beta blocker and ??) lowered my BP too much, it went down to > >> 70-something over 40-something, they got worried. Felt wierd while they > >> got the BP stabilized. > >> > >> Had an IV in the back of each hand, a red "ET light" oxygen and pulse > >> sensor on a finger, EKG electrodes on the chest. And a wound in the inside > >> hip joint from the catherter. Very difficult to rest comfortably or adjust > >> position in bed. Found it difficult to concentrate on reading, tv, > >anything > >> - partly from the drugs, partly from exhaustion and stress. > >> > >> Had a BP cuff on one arm, all the time. Prevented me from bending the arm > >> fully. > >> For a while, they were taking the BP every 15 minutes (!!) - it > >transmitted > >> to the nurses' station. > >> I could see the monitor above my bed, with some difficulty, and see an > >> occasional wierd-feeling heartbeat show up as a blip on the EKG graph. > >(Was > >> told that my left ventricle might fire too strongly or out of sequence > >> sometimes, as the heart got used to having more oxygen.) > >> > >> Did _not_ enjoy having to use a urinal - many, many times a day, too, > >> because of all the IV fluids. > >> Re: the alternative, that part of the body just switched off completely, > >> thankfully. > >> Didn't re-activate until Saturday when I got into a room with a real > >> bathroom <yay>. > >> > >> They had me on solid food as of lunch Thursday - but low cal, low > >> cholesterol, low sodium menu. OK. I actually got to pick my meals from > >> several choices. Better than a lot of airline food I've had :-) > >> > >> Hospitals give you medications on a schedule - hence the classic line > >"wake > >> up to take your sleeping pill" (not relevant in my case, but funny). > >> > >> After a while, it got "old" and boring - ok, folks, I'm alive and starting > >> to recover. Now I'm uncomfortable. Tried really hard not to complain, > >> considering the alternative. Felt almost euphoric, elated mentally while > >> hassled physically. Strange. > >> > >> Friday, they were supposed to move me to a regular room, but didn't have a > >> bed available. So I got kept in CCU. At least I was able to talk them into > >> giving me a telephone. > >> > >> Was I ever surprised when MikeyD talked his way through the nurses and got > >> me on the phone. He wanted to know my Hebrew name so he could say a > >> traditional prayer for healing for me - much appreciated!! And even more > >> surprised when a little later Friday afternoon, Eri*K*a and Philip from > >> England got me on the phone. Wow. > >> > >> Saturday afternoon, one of my rabbis came over to visit. A while after > >> that, they moved me to a regular room, with a roommate. This was another > >> trip - roommate was 81 years old, had just gotten a pacemaker. He worked > >at > >> the same refinery I do (under prior owners) from 1945 to 1977 when he > >> retired. Boy, was he happy to have an audience for all his stories - I > >> understood enough to ask questions and draw him out. (And of course I got > >> to tell him stories <g>.) > >> > >> Uncanny - we both have 2 kids, a boy and a girl. We both have photography > >> as a hobby. I'm going to Australia in 6 months, he just got back 6 months > >ago. > >> > >> So, now that I'm home, it's hard to just sit or lie down and rest. > >> But I don't have a lot of endurance - so eventually I give in and take it > >> easy. > >> > >> Am going down to the gym at least every other day to do the exercise bike > >> or treadmill, while monitoring pulse rate. Need to work up to 30 minutes > >or > >> more every day. > >> > >> Am also going up and down the stairs at home a lot - partly for exercise, > >> partly because my computer is up there <g>. Then I have to go downstairs > >to > >> eat or pee. Amazing what those diuretic pills can do <ha>. > >> > >> Really conscious of every little twinge or funny feeling, but for the most > >> part feel better than I did before (but tired). > >> Think about it - if a blood vessel in the heart were 50% blocked, and now > >> it's open, what a difference that makes. > >> When you add this to the thyroid medication and the air pump for sleep > >> apnea, the brain is actually functioning !! > >> > >> Wife goes between the "stiff upper lip" and breaking down crying saying > >> "I'm glad you didn't die". > >> > >> Sorry for the length of the post, but it feels good to lay it all out. > >> > >> OK, folks - a couple of items from the "bully pulpit" - > >> (1) get your cholesterol and blood pressure tested > >> (2) get regular exercise > >> (3) learn to reduce stress > >> (4) be here longer for those who love you. > >> > >> -Ben Braver > >> > >> > >> > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. 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